


Patchwork Multiverse

by Kalcifer



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: 15 Days of FatT, 15 Days of FatT 2020, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, During Canon, Epistolary, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Other, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Season: Autumn in Hieron, Season: COUNTER/Weight, Season: Marielda, Season: Winter in Hieron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 9,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalcifer/pseuds/Kalcifer
Summary: Utterly unrelated ficlets for 15 days of FatT.Tags to be updated as I go.
Relationships: Cassander Timaeus Berenice/Mako Trig, Euanthe Akakios Themistokles & Sokrates Nikon Artemisios, Jacqui Green/Aria Joie
Comments: 35
Kudos: 11





	1. Day One: Transfixed (Throndir & Ephrim)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aiming to keep these around 500 words apiece, and they have absolutely no connecting threads beyond the themes for the day and my own incredibly predictable interests. It's going to be a good time.

“Okay, I think this is the one,” Throndir said. Not that he could read any of the labels on the doors, but the clerk had given them directions, and he’d been counting the doors and twists in the hallways. Even more encouragingly, his key worked to let them in.

“Oh, thank God,” Ephrim said. He took two steps into the room and promptly groaned. “And of course we get the room without windows. There have to be candles somewhere around here, right?”

Throndir came up behind him, intending to help look, which meant he was right beside Ephrim when his hands caught fire. Right. He’d almost forgotten Ephrim could do that.

The thing was, Throndir hadn’t been properly warm since he’d died. He’d gotten better at trapping the cold inside himself, not letting it seep out to hurt other people (except when he was taken by surprise by, say, a magical kidnapping), but it was always there.

He’d pretty much gotten used to it. His life had done a good job of preparing him for the cold. He hadn’t even thought about it until he realized he could feel the heat of Ephrim’s flames. He leaned into it subconsciously, trying to recapture at least some of the feeling of being alive.

He only came back to awareness at the sound of Ephrim chuckling. “I’m flattered, but I can’t exactly stand around like a lamp all night, so it would be great if you could use those ranger skills of yours to track down a torch or something.”

Throndir started. “Oh, right, yeah. Sorry. It’s just warm, is all.”

“Well, yeah. It’s fire.” Ephrim paused. “I guess it did seem like wherever you were was pretty cold. Do you want to skip the candles and just light a fire? It might be a little more difficult if we have to get up in the night, but…” He shrugged.

Now that it was being offered, Throndir desperately wanted it, but he knew that would only make it harder when he had to turn away from the warmth again. “No, I’m okay. Thanks, though.”

“You might be fine, but I actually don’t feel like fiddling with candles right now, so...” Ephrim gestured, and the fire uncurled from around his hand to leap into the fireplace, settling into a cheerful glow. “Besides, it would be a shame for you to miss out on that.” With that, he set his bag unceremoniously on one of the beds and began rifling through it.

Throndir should have done the same, especially since his bag was a loan from the Archives and he barely knew what was in it. He shouldn’t pay any more attention to the fireplace. He was only setting himself up for disappointment.

He crept closer anyway. The fire crackled cheerily, unaware of the effect it was having on him. He closed his eyes and let its heat sink into his bones and drive away the ever-present chill, however temporarily.


	2. Day Two: Hands (Vicuna & Grace)

It was one thing to be the new Candidate of Grace during the day, when there were celebrations and ceremonies and everyone talking about how happy they were to have chosen her. It was another, much more intimidating thing to stand alone in the dark in an unfamiliar bedroom and feel Grace looming over her from the hangar, unseen but undeniably present.

Vicuna (because that’s who she was, now, and identity that was both a gift and an obligation) couldn’t sleep.

She’d spent so long preparing herself for this, throwing herself into campaigning and studying and always, always moving. Tomorrow she’d begin her Candidacy, assume Grace’s authority and guide her Hands and only continue to pick up speed. This could be her last moment of peace. She’d reached the apogee of her orbit, about to slingshot back towards the sun, and the anticipation of momentum was more unnerving than the movement itself would be.

Unable to calm her racing thoughts, she threw off her blankets and put on her flight suit. She made her way to the hangar with even, confident steps. The halls of the compound were unfamiliar, glaring lights and gleaming walls around every corner, but she could find Grace anywhere now.

She’d felt Grace’s attention on her before she even got out of bed, but it wasn’t until Vicuna was at her feet that Grace reached out to her, welcoming her with a wave of warmth and acceptance.

Vicuna had felt Grace’s presence before, of course. She’d stood in the crowd at parades as a child and basked in Grace’s glow as if it were the sun on a frozen winter day. Earlier that day, she’d felt it focus on her as she received her new name, and had had to fight to maintain her composure in front of the crowd. The all-encompassing sense of being known had nearly bowled her over.

This was somehow lighter than that, but more concentrated than Grace in a crowd. It was not the feeling of being known, but the surety that Grace didn’t need to know. Whatever Vicuna had been was irrelevant in the face of what she would be with Grace’s guidance. It was the relief of a burden Vicuna hadn’t known she’d been carrying.

Even as Vicuna leaned into that feeling, she did not allow it to melt her. She did her best to project confidence and poise in return. She was certain she could bear up under Grace’s attention. She would be the extension of Grace’s will, guiding her to the trivialities that might otherwise slip beneath her notice and carrying her power where Grace herself could not go.

Grace’s approval shifted in tone, not simply unconditional but specific and concrete. It was all Vicuna needed. After fighting for so long, everything had been made clear. She had a purpose. She was going to see it through.

Eventually, she pulled away from the embrace. It was easier than she’d expected. She knew that her place was by Grace’s side, and no one could take that from her.


	3. Day Three: Ghost (AuDy & Discovery)

AuDy was unaccustomed to not having a body. They’d had to go from having many to just the one when they’d first become aware of themself, but that wasn’t the same. They’d still been able to effortlessly exert their will on physical reality, to draw others’ attention or transport objects or pull back on a joystick that had never been connected to the Mesh. Now, any one of those things had become a trial.

There was very little Discovery was unaccustomed to. 80,000 years of existence had that effect on a person. But one of those few things was the absence of Liberty, the weight of all those millennia working against them for once. They didn’t know how to stop probing a situation for every little detail and move on.

So it fell to AuDy to lead them both, to navigate a world they’d resisted so much as looking at for the first ten years of their existence.

It was that lack of experience that led them to Mako. That was their excuse, anyway. The September Incident had been one of their few chances to observe the Mesh directly, so when they were disembodied and disoriented, of course they sought that shred of familiarity.

Finding him was easy. Mako’s mental-virtual signal was distinctive even before it was multiplied and reflected nine times over. He might have been half the sector away, but Discovery had some experience tracking things down.

The mood in the Rapid Evening compound was somber. As someone who had recently been killed in the fight against Rigor, AuDy thought that was reasonable. Even so, the sight of Mako this down-hearted was troubling in a way they didn’t care to examine. Perhaps reaching out to him would be a bad idea.

Discovery suggested they take a subtler approach. They’d already connected to that program he hosted in his brain once before, shortly before Liberty broke away.

When they reached for it this time, though, it was buried in an alarming layer of writhing black code. The statements that made up Larry were only visible in flashes that broke the surface to pull stray tendrils back towards himself and away from the rest of Mako’s brain.

There was nothing AuDy could do to purge the infection from Mako, not in this state, but they could isolate it and pull the stray program free. Discovery held the tendrils of Rigor at bay while AuDy dragged its victim back into the light of Mako’s consciousness.

They sat back to watch Mako’s confusion transform into delight, and then they moved on. One emotional reunion per day was more than enough.

They dipped into Mako’s communication logs long enough to track down Aria’s computer and went on their way.6


	4. Day Four: Consequences (Lilith & Claret)

Lilith wasn’t expecting to see Claret again. She’d seemed pretty decisive about leaving Marielda, and after the role Lilith had played in Red House’s crumbling, she’d been just as happy not to be in easy stabbing range.

All of this meant that she was unprepared to turn a corner and find Claret staring contemplatively up at Samot’s tower in the middle of the night. Lilith rubbed her neck. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but trust me, it’s not worth it.”

Claret didn’t visibly react, but the air around her grew cold. “You’re right, you don’t know, just like you don’t know how close I am. I just need his seal, and then I can leave this town forever.”

Lilith assessed Claret’s expression, weighed it against her own memories of orders that took away homes and businesses and freedoms. “…How exact do you need it to be?”

At that, Claret finally turned to her. “Not terribly. I don’t think anyone will want to look at these documents too closely.” Her voice held a sort of grim amusement.

“Then I can make one for you. You just need to take me with you when you go.” Lilith’s confidence wasn’t entirely warranted. Her specialty had always been words, making sure people were too satisfied with themselves and their purchases to care about the physical evidence. If it meant escaping Marielda, though, getting away from the knowledge of Samot’s indifference that hung on her shoulders as heavy as the collar once had, she would do anything.

“You haven’t asked where I’m going, let alone what I’ll do once I get there.” Claret’s smile showed off her too-sharp teeth. “It won’t be safe for you.”

“Marielda has never been safe for me,” Lilith shot back. “I figure it will be easier to defend myself if I don’t have the Lance constantly looking over my shoulder.”

“Funny you should say that,” Claret said in a tone that contained no humor. “It’s my intention to bring justice to the rest of the continent. Real justice, not the respectability bullshit that’s spreading around here. I can’t afford a partner who might undermine that.”

Lilith puffed out a breath. She wasn’t sure she trusted Claret to decide what justice looked like, either, especially if she was using the banner of the Golden Lance to do it.

Unexpectedly, her mind went back to Sige, what he’d said about how the Lance was changing and why he’d signed on. She thought about being the one to decide who needed to have justice brought down upon them for a change.

It was a tempting thought. She could see why everyone kept buying into it. “Fine,” she said. “As long as you’re serious about being partners. I’m just as committed to this as you are.”

Claret’s smile was softer this time, though her teeth were just as sharp. “Glad to hear it. Now let’s see how good those forgeries of yours really are.”


	5. Day Five: Rings (Cass/Mako)

Mako was a nightmare of a patient. Cass knew that, had had to cajole him into letting them treat his broken bones and bullet wounds and miscellaneous illnesses before, but they had naively hoped that literally dying would make him think twice about ignoring their recommendations.

Those hopes were dashed the day after he got out of the hospital, when Cass walked into the living room to find Mako pulling open the packaging of his new hoverboard. Maybe he’d learn his lesson when Cass dropped dead of a heart attack from the stress of trying to keep him alive.

Mako looked up at them and grinned, oblivious to the way he was draining Cass’ life force like a vampire. “Oh, hey, you’re just in time. Want to watch me figure out how to do tricks on this thing?”

“No? Don’t do that, that’s a terrible idea.” He didn’t even know how to use it, because why would that matter in a life-or-death situation. Cass would say they couldn’t believe it, but they had met Mako before.

“I thought that was the point, though. I do something dumb, and you sit around and laugh at me despite the fact that it always turns out to be a great idea that will save all our lives in the future.” He balanced the board on one arm, running his other hand along it looking for a switch.

“This isn’t just dumb, it’s suicidal.” Cass fought the urge to snatch the board from Mako’s hands. They were trying to be the reasonable one here. “Didn’t the hospital give you some sort of instructions for your recovery? Like taking it easy and not immediately launching yourself into the air on a hoverboard you don’t know how to control?”

“I mean, probably.” Mako shrugged one shoulder. “I stopped paying attention after they told me about the weird metal in my chest.”

Cass was going to snap that board in half, and they didn’t think anyone would blame them. “You have to take this more seriously. I mean, you died, Mako!”

“Yeah, and if I think about that too hard, I will flip out. That’s no fun for anyone.” Mako didn’t meet Cass’ eyes. “Doing cool hoverboard stunts is a much better use of my time.”

“That’s…” Cass pinched the bridge of their nose. This was a different crisis than the one they’d thought they’d have to prevent, and one they were so much less equipped to deal with. They’d brought it on themself, though, so they’d just have to soldier through. “You realize that’s a terrible way to handle your feelings, right?”

“Am I supposed to spend an hour staring moodily out the window every time I watch the news?” Mako asked, tone deceptively light.

This was exactly what Cass was talking about. They couldn’t figure their own shit out, they weren’t in any position to help other people with theirs. “First of all, I only did that like twice,” they said, aware that it didn’t help their case. “And we’re not talking about me right now anyway.”

“Right. We’re talking about my cool hoverboard.” He pressed a button decisively and watched the board lift into the air.

Cass recognized a losing battle when they saw one. They certainly had enough experience with them. “Fine,” they said. “But when this inevitably goes wrong, I’m going to hold it over your head until the end of time.”

Mako climbed onto the board, wobbled a little, then caught himself and flashed a thumbs up. “You say that now, but I’m going to turn out to be a natural, and then you’ll be sorry.”

“Yeah, somehow I’m not worried about that.” Why waste their worry on something so trivial when Mako provided such an array of more exciting things to worry about every day?

In the end, Mako didn’t manage to re-open his wounds, which Cass considered a minor miracle. He did take out a bookshelf, but since Aria had been using it to display figurines of herself, they both agreed it was no great loss. And if Aria had a problem with it, she could be the one to try to make Mako care about his own well-being for once.


	6. Day Six: Cut Loose (Natalya)

This mission had been a months-long, painfully slow disaster, so when it finally fell apart, it was almost a relief. Natalya could wash her hands of it all without having to navigate a web of loyalties that had become far too complex. She was back to first principles. She was an agent of the Rapid Evening, and she wanted to survive, so she left. There was no time to worry about minor things like whether Tea could escape the fallout or if Sokrates would have anywhere to go. She had to make sure her own answer to both those questions was yes.

It wasn’t until she was safely aboard her custom shuttle and headed off-planet that she could slow down enough to think about what came next. She didn’t see the Evening being thrilled with her, even if most of the ways things had blown up hadn’t been her fault. She’d intentionally blown her cover to a man who was terrible at lying, and had been prepared to do so even more dramatically to force the Evening to commit resources to a task they’d consider secondary at best.

She stood by that decision, even now. Letting innocents suffer when she had the power to intervene would be unconscionable. But by the Evening’s logic, intervening now could lead to far greater loss of life in the future if she’d weakened the organization as a whole.

Maybe it would be best to go to ground. She could distance herself from this debacle, and by the time she was ready to reach out to the Evening again, she’d be installed in some other organization and so not worth extracting for discipline. And it would be refreshing to put her engineering skills to their intended use, without having to watch her creations languish in the hands of someone too afraid to use them. She wondered –

No. That train of thought wasn’t worth entertaining. She’d left them behind, and to go back now would only mean exposing herself to recrimination and interrogation. That mission was over, and she needed to prepare for the next one.

She pulled up a list of prominent OriCon tech companies, looking for signs that any of them might be overreaching. Realistically, she’d need to wait a few months for everything to settle down before making her next move, but it was better to have a concrete goal than to allow her mind to wander. Besides, she already knew she wanted to be far away from the Diaspora and the unnerving gaze of the Divines.

Which in itself was another unproductive train of thought. The Divines were just another thing to monitor, warning signs of societal hubris. She didn’t need an opinion when she had the data. It was simpler that way.

Even so, she kept her shuttle headed for OriCon space. Indulging this one weakness would make it easier to ignore the rest.


	7. Day Seven: Children (Ibex, Addax, Jerboa, Vicuna, Kobus)

Attar believed in what he and Maryland were building. With time, it would change the face of the galaxy. But he could see the tensions rising in the Golden Branch, and he knew that unless someone took action, the Institute would die before it could change anything, along with billions of innocent people.

If Voice had taught him anything, though, it was that those billions of people were the key to change. That’s what drove him to stand in front of a crowd and tell them what he saw. More than that, he told them how he’d stop it from coming to pass.

And they listened, just like he knew they would. They listened, and they passed his message on.

Winning the election was easy. It was plain to see that he was meant to leave his mark on the galaxy, and people responded to that. If that mark was being the most righteous, he thought he could live with that.

* * *

The death itself was a terrible tragedy, of course, but no one had expected Peace’s Candidate to last very long once war had broken out. The real surprise was how quickly it was ready to take on another one.

He thought he understood, though. There was no peace to be found in burying your head in the sand and denying reality. It was something that had to be fought for. And while he didn’t consider himself anything special, he was willing to fight for peace and for Peace, and that was all it took.

He was inside Peace only a month later. It was then that he realized how impossible understanding it from the outside was.

* * *

Quentin knew his brother would find about his campaign. Even if Attar weren’t a major political figure, it wasn’t like this was the sort of thing you could keep secret. The whole point was getting your face in front of a crowd.

That was okay. He had nothing to hide. Attar should understand better than anyone why he had to do this. Sure, the war was over, but everything was still so tentative, especially on Counterweight. And Quentin knew he could handle a Divine better than anyone. It was in his blood.

So maybe he didn’t have the detachment part down just yet, but that was okay. He’d have plenty of time to pick it up on the job. Like his brother, he intended to stick around.

* * *

Grace needed someone determined to pilot her, someone who was to the people around them what Grace was to the other Divines, and there was no one else she would trust to do the job. She knew with Grace’s guidance she could lead the Diaspora into this new age of prosperity.

No one knew when the next election would be. It was difficult to judge for Grace’s Candidates in particular, practiced as they were at retaining their dignity in the face of hardship. Even so, a smooth transfer of power would be essential, and for that, there could be no question of whether she was the right person for the job. She would mold herself into the ideal Candidate now. Once her term began, she could hit the ground running.

By the time her chance came, she’d all but forgotten how to be anything else. She was pure grace.

* * *

There was the image of a Candidate that everyone on Vox knew, someone far above the populace who spent xyr days in contact with distant allies, barely remembering to check in on the people who lived with and around xem. Then there was the version of a Candidate that they alone saw, the one who checked in on them every few weeks no matter how far away he was or how important his other duties were.

Technically, Ibex wasn’t even Vox’s Candidate. He did most of his work from Glimmer, someplace they couldn’t imagine, though he’d tried describing it to them many times. But he said he represented all the people of the Diaspora, and that meant them, too.

Vox’s real Candidate was scary. They couldn’t imagine talking to xem, let alone being like xem someday. They couldn’t be afraid of Ibex, though, not when he was always so nice to them. It sounded like he was like that to a lot of people. He solved problems by listening when someone needed him and then helping them however he could.

For a lonely kid without any real personal loyalties, the idea of being that for someone else was incredibly tempting.


	8. Day Eight: Masks (Sokrates & Euanthe)

Sokrates had issued their invitation with the vague hope they could be the one to break the news. Judging by the way Euanthe carried themself, each movement tight and contained as if trying to hold themself together, that hope was in vain. It figured. Euanthe loved to act like they’d anticipated every possible scenario. They probably had people whose whole job was feeding them political news as it happened.

Sokrates raised their hand in a clumsily overenthusiastic wave. “Euanthe! It’s so good to finally see you again.” They hoped the sincerity in their voice came through.

As always, it was impossible to tell what Euanthe was thinking unless they deigned to give you a clue. “Sokrates.” They inclined their head in a gesture that could have meant anything from respect to condescension and so ended up meaning nothing at all. “I’m glad to see you’re well.”

Sokrates forced a laugh. “Oh, you know, turns out ten years of farming give you pretty sweet muscles. Who knew?”

Euanthe hummed a polite acknowledgment. “It would seem that’s not all it gave you.” They would never allow themself to be caught staring, but even so, Sokrates was keenly aware of their attention at their throat.

“Let them see,” Integrity whispered, their voice raising the hairs on Sokrates’ arm. “If you ever wish to make peace with them, they must understand what you are now. What we are.”

Which was all very well for the alien machine to say. It didn’t remember what Euanthe had been like, back before they had to be the emblem of an empire and its future. It didn’t remember how simple things used to be.

Arguing with it wouldn’t do anything to reassure Euanthe that Sokrates was still just their little sibling, though. They were already arching an eyebrow, the model of composed concern.

Sokrates shook their head. “I didn’t exactly ask for it, but it wasn’t like I could refuse, either. I have the power to help people now. You understand, right?” They saw their mistake just too late, and winced.

Euanthe flinched too, though they caught themself almost immediately. “I can’t say I do.” The venom in their voice wasn’t particularly veiled. Neither was the flash of fear across their face a moment later, the way their eyes flicked back to Sokrates’ neck as if expecting Integrity to shoot out and run them through for daring to let their mask slip.

Sokrates had been prepared for a fight. They weren’t ready to see their sibling treat them like a threat. If it weren’t for Integrity keeping their spine straight, they would have slumped with exhaustion. “I’m sorry,” they said. “Not for what I did for Apostolos. I can’t apologize for doing the right thing. But I know what that did to you, and I am sorry for that.”

“I know,” Euanthe said, expressionless once more. “Did you need anything else from me, Apokine?”

Sokrates had so many possible answers to that question, which was why Euanthe hadn’t addressed it to them. “No,” they said, hoping it was their own willpower keeping their voice steady and not their Divine’s. “That will be all. Thank you.”

Euanthe bowed and left, steps even and measured. Integrity let Sokrates stare after them for another 15 seconds before prodding them back to their duties.


	9. Day Nine: Devotion (Kobus & Vicuna)

Loyalty indicated for the third time that it was ready to open the doorway. For the third time, Kobus reached to accept, only to freeze with their hand halfway to the button.

It wasn’t that they were afraid to meet a Divine. That had already become commonplace to them, and they knew more or less what to expect. For instance, Righteousness was as driven and moral as its Candidate, while Service was kind of a jerk. They’d only spoken to Voice over comms, but it seemed reasonable and understanding. Honestly, Divines were easier than people. You always knew what they stood for.

But today they’d be meeting Grace, and what she stood for was the Diaspora. Kobus’ entire purpose was to be Loyal to her. If they messed this up, they’d be taken from Loyalty, and then they didn’t know who they’d be.

Loyalty’s displays pulsed in a soothing rhythm. “Do not worry,” it said. Just the sound of its voice echoing through the cockpit was enough to begin calming Kobus down. “I would not have accepted you were you not capable of this. Now that I have, no one will separate you from me.”

“Right.” Kobus nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.” They hit the button, and the shadows around them deepened. They pressed their back into their seat, reassured by Loyalty’s solid presence.

Then they were through. They emerged in the most luxurious garden they’d ever seen, surrounded by beautiful flowers they’d never so much as heard of. In the distance, lush green hills stretched in every direction.

Kobus barely registered the scenery, though, because standing at the center of all this beauty was Grace. She looked perfectly suited to her surroundings, at ease and just as gorgeous as the flowers. At her side was a girl who could only be Vicuna, her posture perfectly straight. Kobus instinctively straightened to match her. They knew they weren’t visible from the outside, but it felt like the right thing to do.

Loyalty prompted them to kneel, and Kobus hastily agreed. They ran their hands over their flight suit one last time, making absolutely sure they were ready, and scrambled to the ground. They could see Grace and Loyalty greeting each other out of the corner of their eye. They wanted to stare, but they had their own duties to attend to.

Vicuna didn’t move from Grace’s shadow, so Kobus had to run to her, all but skidding into a kneeling position themself. “I’m Kobus, the latest Candidate of Loyalty, and I’m ready to dedicate my life to your cause.” They may have stolen a little of the wording from their swearing-in ceremony, but they thought it sounded good.

Their confidence dropped when Vicuna snorted. They frowned, trying to work out whether she was laughing at them, then quickly stopped as they remembered their job. They had to trust her.

Vicuna crossed her arms, still grinning. “You don’t need to be nearly that formal, you know.”

That didn’t sound right, but Kobus definitely wasn’t going to argue with her. “If you say so.” They straightened, though they weren’t sure what to do with their hands now. They kept going to fidget with their clothing before catching themself.

“It’s a waste of both our time. You might as well just get to the point.” She took a step towards them. “For instance, show me why the people chose you.”

They took a breath and launched into one of their campaign speeches, still drilled into their head months later. They’d only made it a few words in before Vicuna cut them off. “What did I just say about wasting time? I want a real answer, not the canned platitudes.”

Kobus glanced back at Loyalty, unsure of how to respond without their Divine to help them demonstrate. They twisted their hands together.

Vicuna’s stance softened, arms relaxed. “Yeah, I get it. You’re new. We can do this another time.” She grinned sudden and unexpected. “Here. Let me teach you how to fight.”

“I know how to fight,” Kobus said, annoyed. “I need to be able to protect you, remember?”

Vicuna’s leg darted out, and then Kobus was on the ground with no idea how they’d gotten there. “Good luck protecting anyone like that.” She took their hand and pulled them to their feet.

Kobus’ eyes darted back to Loyalty, but it was still engrossed in its conversation and showed no sign it was paying attention to them. “Okay,” Kobus said. “Fine. Show me how to fight your way, then.”


	10. Day Ten: Home (The Chime)

Aria groaned, setting her phone aside with all the flair an idol could muster. “This new ‘Aria Joie’ song is the _worst_.”

“Tell me about it,” Mako said from where he was draped upside-down over the back of the couch. “The tune is so repetitive and lazy.”

“I know! It’s like they averaged all my actual songs together and then subtracted anything that was even vaguely interesting.” Aria spun her chair to face him. “And don’t get me started on the lyrics.”

“We get it, good things are good.” Mako slid down another centimeter. Aria was just waiting for him to lose his balance and hit the ground head-first.

“It’s a good thing EarthHome is around to tell us these things,” Cass said, sitting on the couch normally like a loser.

“Well, we can’t express any real opinions, that would lessen our market appeal.” Aria rolled her eyes. “As opposed to that shitty bridge, which is apparently just fine.”

“The bridge sucks,” Mako said vehemently.

“Have you actually listened to the song?” AuDy asked. They seemed to be standing in the corner staring at the wall. Aria knew better than to question it by now.

“Nope,” Mako said, popping the p. “But we’ve heard enough of these rants by now that I know how to ride it out.”

“Hey.” Aria realized she didn’t have a rebuttal, so she switched gears. “You can’t tell me they aren’t getting worse, though. It’s like they’re trying to ruin my image so they can finally drop me altogether and not have to worry about people noticing my real message.”

“And yet ‘your’ music continues to be popular,” AuDy pointed out.

“She’s just too popular to ruin,” Mako said.

Aria flashed a peace sign.

“They have to renegotiate your contract eventually, right? They can’t just keep putting your image on anything they choose forever.” Cass looked half a second away from researching contract law themself.

“I don’t know about that.” Aria sighed. “I didn’t understand most of it when I signed it, so for all I know it could say that they own me for the rest of time. Even if I had a copy of it now, it’s all so dense and full of jargon that I might not be able to figure it out.” Cass looked like they were about to say something, but Aria cut them off with a look. “Yeah, I know, but I was 17 and wanted to be famous. Obviously I know better now.”

Cass held up their hands conciliatorily. “I was just going to suggest we go erase their records so they don’t have anything on you anymore. It’s not like we have any other jobs at the moment.”

“Oh.” Aria slumped back in her chair, considering it. “They definitely have a million backups.”

“Yeah, but you have me, so it’s not like that means anything.” Mako grinned.

Aria found herself embarrassingly moved by how willing they were to go up against a megacorp for her. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t tease her mercilessly for getting emotional about it, though, so she made sure her voice was level when she said, “Thanks, but it’s not worth it. They probably have people who can rewrite the whole thing from memory, and then we’ll all be in danger for messing with them.”

“We have been in danger for far more foolish reasons before,” AuDy said.

Aria nearly said something sappy about how their support was all she needed, but quickly decided against it. “But if they stopped releasing music as me, I wouldn’t have an excuse to complain about their new songs.”

“Like that would stop you,” Cass said.

“Yeah, you’re kind of a music snob,” Mako agreed.

“Well excuse me for having standards.” Back on familiar footing, Aria launched into another tirade about her label. She threw in extra technical details just for Mako. If he was getting bored of her usual complaints, clearly it was time to take it up a notch.


	11. Day Eleven: Wings (Sige & Aubrey)

Sige was used to Aubrey trying new and explosive things with chemicals. The leather-and-wood contraption was a new and frankly concerning addition, even before she strapped it to her chest. “So, uh, why did you want me here?” he asked. “It looks like you’re basically finished with whatever that is.”

“Exactly,” Aubrey said. “Now I need to test it, and I want you here to catch me if it fails.”

“Okay.” That did nothing to reassure him, but Aubrey knew what she was doing, presumably. He could handle being the safety net. “What’s the plan?”

“I’m going up to the roof and jumping off. If everything works, you’re going to stand outside and be impressed. If not, hopefully you keep me from hitting the ground and breaking something.” Aubrey went to adjust her glasses, paused, then took them off and handed them to Sige. “Like these. I kind of need my glasses to stay in one piece.”

Sige tucked them in his breast pocket. “Do I get to know what’s supposed to happen?”

“It’s a surprise!” Aubrey began shepherding him to the stairs. “Now come on, the faster we get ready the faster you can see it.”

Sige allowed her to push him out the door and into the street. She appeared on the roof not long after, her makeshift wings a stark silhouette against the cloudless sky.

He expected her to jump, but instead, she did something to cause a jet of fire to erupt from the bottom of her harness. It shot her up and forward, lifting her into the air. Sige whooped with excitement.

Rather than float gently to the ground, though, Aubrey continued to rise. She flailed for a moment and the flames died, at which point she began to plummet. Sige raced forward to catch her, but before she hit the ground, she lit the flames again and stuttered to a stop. She continued falling in fits and starts until at last she landed in Sige’s arms. He absorbed the force of the impact without flinching.

She didn’t look hurt, thankfully, though her tail was somewhat singed. It didn’t seem to bother her, aas she kept muttering to herself about adjusting the flow of something or another. “That was amazing!” Sige cut in.

“It was all right,” Aubrey agreed, looking very pleased with herself. “It probably needs more fine-tuning before it’s ready to use for real, though.”

“Maybe, but imagine when it works! You can set fire to people before they even realize you’re there.” He considered who he was talking to and corrected himself. “Or drop choke dust on them, I guess.” He set her down, feeling something shift in his pocket as he did.

He pulled out her glasses only to find that one of the arms had snapped off. He smiled sheepishly. “At least the lenses look okay?”

Aubrey tilted her head to balance the glasses on her nose. “Yeah, I should probably bring goggles next time.”

“Yeah, I’d rather you not accidentally poison us because you can’t tell who we are.”

They headed back into the school. Aubrey was already describing her plans to improve the device for next time.


	12. Day Twelve: Maps (Ice Party)

Hadrian squinted down at the map. Unfortunately, it didn’t make the symbols resolve into anything that made more sense. He swore that they should have passed that mountain by now.

He risked inching closer to the fire in the hopes that the extra light would, well, shed some light on the situation. As he’d feared, though, the movement caught Throndir’s attention, who gestured way too enthusiastically for someone only a few feet away. “Hey, yeah, come join us! I know you can’t get cold and all, but it’s still way nicer over here.”

Fantasmo looked over as well, one eyebrow raised. “You’ve been struggling with that for quite some time now. Are you sure you don’t need any assistance?”

Hadrian could absolutely use some assistance, but like hell he was admitting that to Fantasmo of all people. He was bound to figure things out on his own if he kept at it long enough. He wasn’t going to inflate Fantasmo’s sense of superiority any further to save some time.

It would help if he were allowed to concentrate, without Throndir cutting in every five seconds to ask questions about the shops in Velas or all the different ways to cook fish or whatever. Finally, Hadrian decided to preempt him. “I’ve actually got a question for you. You grew up around here, right? How did you keep from getting lost when everything was covered in snow all the time?”

Throndir showed all his emotions on his face like scenes in a stained glass window, larger than life and impossible to miss or misinterpret, so it was easy for Hadrian to track the progression from eagerness to worry to excitement as he finished his question. It was good to know he hadn’t accidentally said something unspeakably rude to their guide only a few days into the journey. He’d be incredibly frustrated if he managed to ruin his one shot at social interaction outside of Fantasmo for the next two months.

“You know, I never really thought about it,” Throndir said cheerfully. “Like you said, it was snowy basically all the time, so it was just normal. I do have a few tips, though.” And then he was off, talking about landmarks and the position of the sun and whatever other tricks he had up his sleeve.

Hadrian tuned him out, only paying enough attention to make occasional agreeing noises. He ignored the knowing look Fantasmo sent his way even harder. If they wanted to get to the Mark of the Erasure anytime in the next month, he needed to focus on the map.


	13. Day Thirteen: Correspondence (The Chime, minus AuDy)

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** Why did no one warn me that having a real job would mean so many meetings?

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** Addax has been talking forever and I swear he hasn’t actually said anything yet

 **Aria** **✨:** Ugh I know right?

 **Aria** **✨:** It feels like it should be so simple to get things done and then we sit in a room and talk about it for hours and meanwhile people are still suffering

 **Aria** **✨:** I miss being a cool criminal

 **Aria** **✨:** I see you typing and literally do not

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** When were you ever cool?

 **Aria** **✨:**

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** It’s not my fault, I hit send before I read that

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** But yeah I know what you mean

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** I liked it better when the only one trying to make us do meetings was Cass and we all just ignored them anyway

 **Aria** **✨:** Yeah I really don’t know why they bothered

 **Aria** **✨:** You know it’s not too late

 **Aria** **✨:** We could go out and do crime right now

 **Aria** **✨:** Who’s going to stop us?

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** I do have like 8 alibis

 **Aria** **✨:** Damn I wish EarthHome had let me have a copy of my hologram

 **Aria** **✨:** Imagine the possibilities

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** Don’t you already have a shrine to yourself with every piece of merch they ever slapped your face on?

 **Aria** **✨:** What’s your point?

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** :/

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** Also I told Addax I had an urgent meeting with the leader of the Righteous Vanguard and walked out before he could say anything

 **Aria** **✨:** Lmao nice

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** I’m getting a spaceship now

🕹️ **Mako** **👾:** See you soon

* * *

_[the faint sounds of a voice humming “Love’s First Explosion]_

_[a click]_

ARIA: Cass!

CASS: Hey, Aria.

ARIA: God, it’s so good to hear from you. I was half-expecting you to have to cancel last-second.

CASS: After all the trouble we went to to schedule this in the first place? No way. I’ve told everyone not to bother me unless Rigor is floating right outside my window.

ARIA: Yeah, same. …So how long do you think we have until someone barges in anyway?

CASS: _[snorts]_ I don’t know about your people, but mine seem convinced I’m going to have them shot if they make a single decision without me holding their hand through it.

ARIA: You should stop shooting them then. _[laughs]_ Mine are happy to try and do things on their own, but the second anyone disagrees on anything they decide the best way to settle it is to bring it to me.

CASS: I guess that’s what we get for setting ourselves up as leaders. …I know it’s dumb, but I keep thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve been inside the Apokine. It’s supposed to be my claim to the title in the first place, and I haven’t gone near it in months.

ARIA: …I haven’t had a chance to show off the Righteous Regent to you, have I?

CASS: I mean, I watch the news, I saw you unveil it.

ARIA: But you haven’t seen it up close, and you definitely haven’t seen how it fights. We should fix that.

_[Cass hums inquisitively]_

ARIA: I’m just thinking that you could bring the Apokine out here, and I can take the Regent, and we can remember how to really pilot.

CASS: That’s such a bad idea.

ARIA: And?

CASS: Yeah, no, I’m definitely doing it, I just needed to mention what a bad idea it is.

ARIA: Yeah, yeah. So do you want to try to meet up by Counterweight? There’s all that empty space right by it.

CASS: Sure, that makes sense.

ARIA: We could always –

_[a muffled voice cuts in on Aria’s end of the line. it speaks to Aria for several seconds. she responds in equally low tones. its voice only resolves at the end of the exchange.]_

AIDE: Thank you, Executive Joie.

_[several seconds of silence, filled only by the sounds of a door opening and closing]_

CASS: …Executive, huh?

ARIA: Old habits die hard, I guess. _[giggles nervously]_ Really, I need to find something better for them to call me, but it feels so self-centered to sit around thinking of titles for myself, you know?

CASS: …And you always hated to be self-centered. _[sighs]_ You don’t just want to call yourself the regent?

ARIA: It was fine for a mech, but for a person it just feels over-the-top.

CASS: Sometimes people want over-the-top. It shows them that you’re dedicated to the cause.

ARIA: I don’t know, I’ll think about it. …You probably need to get going, don’t you?

CASS: Argus has been standing in front of me for a few minutes now, and I should probably see what they want. I’ll message you about meeting up, though.

ARIA: Great! Hopefully we can work things out for that soon.

CASS: Good luck with whatever crisis you’re having this week.

ARIA: You too.

_[a click]_

_[faint sigh]_

* * *

**Big Cass:** You know how you always make fun of me for not understanding technology?

 **Big Cass:** I just saw Sokrates spend five minutes trying to figure out how to work a printer

 **Big Cass:** They didn’t even get it in the end, they just had Integrity write it down using their hands

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** they were living in the middle of nowhere for the last decade, cut them some slack

 **Big Cass:** They have a Divine built into their body?

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** a divine that was also living in the middle of nowhere for at least a decade

 **Big Cass:** It’s still a Divine!

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** you talk a big game for someone who hasn’t updated their phone since they bought it to replace the one they installed spyware on

 **Big Cass:** You haven’t seen me in months, you don’t know anything about my phone

**c0ns013_c0w130y:** _[a screenshot of a phone screen showing the current time and date at the Apostolosian capital, as well as an operating system several versions out of date. the background is a slightly blurry picture of the ocean]_

**Big Cass:** You can Fog my phone all the way from Kesh??

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** lol nah i made this in five minutes in photoshop

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** i knew you would literally never change your phone background unless someone made you

 **Big Cass:** I like my background

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** it’s the most generic background imaginable

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** i know you’re a politician now and it’s your job to be boring but come on

 **Big Cass:** Just because it doesn’t hurt your eyes to look at it doesn’t mean it’s boring

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** i promise the world won’t end if you ease up on the fish theming a little

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** well

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** that won’t be why it ends, at least

 **Big Cass:** …

 **Big Cass:** That shouldn’t be funny

 **c0ns013_c0w130y:** i don’t know what you’re talking about, i’m hilarious

 **Big Cass:** Sure you are, buddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't feel like dealing with the HTML but in my mind these are respectively space texting, a space phone call, and space Discord, which is why each section is formatted the way it is


	14. Day Fourteen: Waves (Jerboa)

Jerboa had known from the start that he would make a great Candidate, and that meant he belonged on the forefront of the Diasporan diplomatic force. The Divine that accompanied the position was something of a necessary evil. Sure, it was a falcon or whatever, and the physical design was pretty cool. He still didn’t know why they’d decided to make a Divine of Detachment in the first place, much less put it somewhere as critical as Counterweight. But he’d do what was needed of him. He’d bring a Divine to heel if he had to.

As it turned out, working with Detachment was easier than he’d expected, almost paradoxically because it was so disinterested in him. The knowledge that it wouldn’t stop him from getting in touch with Attar – with Ibex made it easier for him not to try. And part of him was filled by a strange desire to prove it wrong, to be so impressive that even Detachment couldn’t help but get attached.

Not that he would admit to that one. It was important to play it cool. He was just glad he hadn’t gotten one of the Divines that could fuck with people’s heads.

What Detachment could do instead was monitor the situation on the planet with ridiculous detail, and Jerboa threw himself into that with gusto. There was so much you simply couldn’t see from the surface, he found, information that only distance revealed. He could listen in on transmissions from anywhere on the planet, hear the chatter of comms and beeps of digital signals and strains of underground music stations. He never reported the last of those. Issues like broadcasting licenses were beneath them.

Even when there was nothing immediate for him to monitor, he caught himself staring down at Counterweight. From this high up, he could still see the lingering pattern of waves in the sediment of the Seabed.

It wasn’t all so dreamlike and distant. He was still a Candidate, still protected people and met with important figures and all the fancy things that people expected of him as both a Candidate and a Rose. He still played his part to perfection. But when all that was over, it only got easier to disengage, to return to his remote monitoring.


	15. Day Fifteen: Celebration (Jacqui/Aria)

Jacqui sat at the kitchen island, drinking coffee and trying to determine the source of the extra swing in Aria’s step. She was practically dancing as she made eggs for them both.

“Oh, I get it,” Jacqui said after frankly too long. “Your birthday is coming up, and you’ve just figured out what you’re doing for me, haven’t you.”

Aria went still, one hand still on the cabinet door. “You know I can’t tell you anything. That would ruin the surprise!”

“Trust me, you’re never going to run out of ways to surprise me.” Jacqui smiled into her mug as Aria swatted her arm. “But don’t you think this whole thing’s a little unnecessary? You should have a day that’s just for you.”

Aria turned back to the stove. “I can’t imagine a better way to spend a day than making you happy.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a real romantic,” Jacqui said, hoping to brush past the fact that such a cheesy line was actually working. “It’s still harder for me to find ways to make you the center of attention when you’re trying to do the same for me.”

“You’re always –“

“Don’t,” Jacqui cut in.

Aria pouted. “You got to do that one earlier, it’s only fair that I can do it now.”

Jacqui failed to fight down a smile. “Yes, I know, you’ll get me back for it later. But right now we’re talking about how I need to pick a new birthday.”

Aria got down the plates and began to serve them both. “I mean, if this is something you want to do, then obviously I’ll support you. Just don’t feel like you have to do it for me, okay?”

“Always so self-centered. Typical pop star.” Jacqui smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ve been thinking about this for a while anyway.”

“If you’re going to be mean to me, maybe you shouldn’t have a birthday after all.” Aria grabbed her own plate and sat down, intentionally scooting her stool closer to Jacqui so their arms brushed against each other. “Just make sure you pick something soon, okay? I already have my plans for you this year, and I don’t want to have to sit on them forever.”

“Choosing one too close to yours ruins the whole point.” More quietly, Jacqui added, “Fuck, I have to pick a day.” It was one thing to say that she should, but there were so many days in a year.

She was tempted to choose a date that already meant something to her and be done with it. The thing was that Aria was already the sort of person who liked to pay attention to things like “the day we wrote that song together!” and “the day you kidnapped my friend and then almost killed me, remember that?” Jacqui wouldn’t want to coopt any of those from her. (Well, the last one was tempting, if only so Aria would leave out the part where she responded by basically kidnapping Jacqui into space. That was probably a bad reason, though.)

“Do you want a day in June?” Aria suggested.

Thinking of Jillian no longer held the same sting it once had, but the memory of their shared day still filled Jacqui with a pang of sorrow that she wouldn’t feel right trying to replace. “Trying to sync it up with the Kalliopian calendar would be a pain,” she said, which was conveniently also true.

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Aria drummed her fingers thoughtfully. “You’re right, this is hard. It feels like there should be some sort of meaning to it, you know?”

“I’m not telling people my birthday is 4/20,” Jacqui said mock-sternly.

“But it suits you so well.” Aria sighed. “Yeah, everything I can come up with is too on-the-nose. The day we won Weight, and stuff like that.”

“That’s another day for you, I’m not about to take it over. That’s the entire point.” Jacqui took another bite of her food.

It left her defenseless when Aria frowned at her. “Hey, whoa, that’s your day too. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I mean, I know that.” Jacqui shrugged. “I’m just saying that one of us spent most of her life fighting for that one, and it wasn’t me.”

Aria’s eyes were filled with that righteous purpose she so rarely had cause for these days. As always, Jacqui was captivated. “Really? Because I seem to remember you at my side for all the important victories. You made it just as much your cause as it was mine.” Aria gestured widely with her fork. “You have at least as much claim to that day as I do, whether you choose to use it or not.”

“My reasons for fighting were pretty selfish,” Jacqui pointed out.

“So were mine, sometimes. That didn’t make a difference to all the people we helped.”

Jacqui shook her head, smiling despite herself. “You’re so good. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“You’re the one who got me here, I’d say that’s plenty of deserving.” Aria wasn’t even trying to fight her own smile. “Besides, you’re not half bad yourself.”

“I do alright.” Jacqui leaned in to kiss Aria, the way she had a thousand times before and was still amazed she could do at all. It wasn’t until she broke the kiss that a thought occurred to her and made her burst out laughing. “And none of that got us any closer to choosing a day.”

“Fuck!” Aria started to laugh as well. “It’s fine, we’ll figure it out eventually.”

(In the end, Jacqui resorted to narrowing down a time of year she liked and then literally throwing a dart at a calendar. It worked as well as anything, and it freed her up to figure out what to do for Aria’s birthday. After the big deal she’d made about celebrating it properly, she needed to make it count.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this brings me to the end of the 15 Days of FatT! Thank you for sticking with me through this perhaps ill-advised endeavor. Hopefully there was something in this ridiculous mishmash to appeal to you.


End file.
